self-propelled

[BlueDistortions]

i’m yanking the self propelled’s motor off to swap to the non propelled. maybe then it won’t choke. if i used ’em the way they’re supposed to, i guess i’d go rear? seems like the front wheels would slip too easy, but then again i lean low into the handle

Topic

[outdoorsman310]

rear is better. 1980s honda hr mowers are great.

[David Bacheller]

I agree about older Honda self-propelled mowers. I have used a HR214 Honda and liked it very much. No belts! But for sheer toughness, I advise Snapper. The real Snapper available from a real Snapper dealer. Rear wheel drive with an honest to goodness differential. True, there are three wear items, a rubber drive disk and two belts. But they last almost forever and are easy to service. Pretty much the same design as four decades ago.

[skim3544]

Unless you bag the grass, skip the rear propelled. The weight of the grass collected in the bag helps out with the traction. The modern Honda mowers are expensive to fix and is usually cheaper to buy a new one than fix transmission problems. Avoid anything with Tecumseh 5 – 7 HP engines. They went out of business couple of years ago, but parts are still available. Craftsman mowers are good but not because they are reliable – they provide parts for just about every mower they make (even for Tecumseh engines) I can always find parts and fix Craftsman mowers in any condition (except for hole in the deck – Sears charge $150+ for new deck) I also like Scotts mowers (they sold business to JD) with Briggs engines.

[David Bacheller]

I respectfully disagree with the “unless you bag grass skip the rear self propel.” If you have any inclines in the yard, the rear wheel self-propel is a real help, whether you are bagging or not. In fact, any kind of self propell is helpful, incline or not. I very much agree with the high cost of Honda repairs. Parts are “honda only” even the cutting blade. Parts costs are high, but that is pretty much true for any mower any more. Pretty much any mower at Sears is going to be a consumer grade MTD mower or its ilk. Not my cup of tea and I like a mower that is good for twenty years or so.

To be honest, I have found all my mowers, in the last ten years, at garage sales. Usually for under twenty dollars US. And applied repair skills to make them perform. I really like Snappers (the real ones) as they are made to be long-term mowers and repairable. I just finished mowing my lawn with a 25 year old Snapper, and it worked a treat. I know….some of you are asking, why buy so many old lawn mowers? Well, when I was a young lad, I had to make due with a crappy lawn mower, and now there are very nice mowers for sale for next to nothing. Just needing a bit of TLC. I just can’t seem them sent to the scrap yard.

[skim3544]

I also get the most of mowers from garage sales and other methods. I can pick up a good mower for about $20, throw in about $20 in parts, use it for a year and sell it for $70. As long as the engine compression shows above 70 PSI it is good for years. I like Craftsman because parts are cheap and available. They are not as reliable as others, but who cares when you can fix it for $10-$20? I use Craftsman mower with 6 HP briggs engine. Bought it for $170 and in 12 years ago I only have to replace rotted fuel line, blade, spark plugs, oil and ignition coil. The engine still has 80 PSI.

[Author]

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